Group Bios

RICARDO GRANDERSON

Ricardo Granderson is the Principal and founder of the Group. He has 15 years of experience that includes Diversity, Employment Law, Dispute Resolution, Human Resources, Claims and Training in both the public and private sectors. He has been Employment Practice Liability Claims Counsel at Aon Financial Services, Director of the Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) Division at the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation where he managed the Wright v. Stern Consent Decree Compliance requirements, was the lead presenter at the NYC Council hearings on the same matter and designed an internal dispute resolution infrastructure that reduced the complaint volume by more than 50%. As Director of EEO, he monitored more than 200 interviews and conducted Agency-wide training for the most of the Parks Department’s 10,000 employees. He was also a member of the NYC Department of Citywide Administration’s Best Practice Work Group. In 2004, the Granderson Group co-sponsored an ADR Conference with Kodak and the New York State Dispute Resolution Association (“NYSDRA”). He was a Panel member at Patterson Belnap’s Diversity in Alternative Dispute Resolution in 2005, which was sponsored by the New York City Bar Association and a Panel member at the EEOC’s Training Institute. As an EEOC Mediator, his settlement rate was 90%. He was on the Employment Law Mediation panels of the NYSE, NASD and the CPR. He was a current member of the CPR’s National Diversity Task Force and served on the Board of IMCR, which is a mediation services provided in the Bronx. He has been a featured speaker at webinars and seminars on Complaint Investigation, Preventing Employment Practice Claims, EEO and Diversity Issues. He was a judge at Fordham University Law School's International ADR Competition and spoke at New York University Law School's Mediation Program.

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He is a graduate of Wesleyan University (graduated with Honors), the City University of New York Law School and completed Mediation Training at Columbia University Law School and the Cornell School of Labor Relations. He is currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Union Settlement Association and was recognized for 30 years of service to youth leadership in Harlem in 2016.

Daniel Schlein

Daniel Schlein is an experienced labor and employment law attorney who focuses on minimizing the risk of costly lawsuits through alternative dispute resolution, management coaching, employee education and training. He has extensive experience counseling both public and private sector clients as well as providing training in employment law and complaint procedures. For six years, he supported diversity initiatives as an Assistant Director with the Global Diversity team of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. His portfolio there also included numerous investigations of complex employment issues, providing risk analyses on potential or active litigation and advising on conflict management. Dan also spent six years as an associate with the New Jersey law firms of Grotta, Glassman & Hoffman (now Fox Rothschild) and Sills Cummis & Gross, P.C. At both firms, he participated in all phases of civil litigation in labor and employment matters before trial and appellate courts as well as in administrative proceedings. He has also handled a variety of other commercial and complex litigation matters. He is now a sole practitioner and serves as Of Counsel to the law firm of Adams Gutierrez & Lattiboudere in New Jersey, where his work focuses on litigation on behalf of New Jersey school boards. He also teaches classes on employee leave and disability issues for the American Management Association.

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Dan received his law degree from George Washington University and is a member of the bars of New York, New Jersey and the District of Columbia. He holds a Master’s degree in Politics from the University of Oxford and a B.A. from Wesleyan University, from which he graduated with honors and departmental high distinction. He earned an advanced certificate in alternative dispute resolution from Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Dan also mediates cases for the New Jersey Superior Courts and arbitrates disputes for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Royce Russell

Royce Russell is a Partner at a New York City Law Firm. He graduated from Fordham University College of Business Administration with honors and from Hofstra University School of Law, where he received the New York State Merit Scholarship. Mr. Russell is an experienced litigator whose skills were honed during his six-year tenure as an Assistant District Attorney in Bronx County, where he managed felony trial assistants.

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He eventually joined the Department of Justice as an Assistant District Counsel where he litigated complex immigration issues before federal judges. After years of public service, Mr. Russell entered private practice and expanded his already formidable resume by acting as Of Counsel to the Koehler & Isaacs, LLP. serving as an arbitrator for the National Association of Security Dealers and in Small Claims court. His expertise, which has been demonstrated as a commentator on Court T.V. is wide ranging and includes employment, commercial litigation and immigration matters. Mr. Russell is licensed to practice in New York and New Jersey.

Alisa Martin

Alisa Martin began her career at Metropolitan Life where she utilized her skills in Human Resources, Corporate Quality and Marketing. As a Senior Internal Consultant she overhauled the company’s performance management process. As a Director, she managed the strategic planning, implementation and assessment of Met Life’s Family Money Magazine and was responsible for developing and managing comprehensive market research. Ms. Martin’s efforts were recognized when she received the Harlem YMCA Black Achiever in Industry Award. After several successful years at Metropolitan Life, she spent two years at American Express where she was a Marketing Manager with responsibility for creating business development strategies for a start-up operation. She increased her division’s trade show market presence by 50%, which translated to more than $500,000.00 in sales. She was the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Local Development Corporation’s consultant on the development of educational seminars for non-profit arts organizations and is now a Vice Director of Branding at a New York City Museum.

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Alisa Martin is a graduate of Vassar College, where she was elected to the society of Phi Beta Kappa. She has also earned a Masters of Arts Degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from New York University.

Titus Rich

Titus Rich is the Director of Mediation at a Dispute Resolution Center in New York City. Mr. Rich’s formal education includes training at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and The United Christian College, where he earned a Doctorate in Theological Studies. In addition, he holds various Certifications in Divorce Mediation, Lemon Law Arbitration and Special Education Mediation and has trained some of New York’s City’s most accomplished mediators.

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As the Director, he is responsible for managing the Center’s operations and staff, as well as training the center’s arbitrators and mediators, which includes a retired corporate general counsel, attorneys and a diverse group of business professionals. Moreover, he maintains a full mediation schedule in Small Claims Court. Under Mr. Rich’s leadership, the Center has resolved more than 300 disputes while attaining an 80% mediation/settlement rate.

Valrine Daley

Valrine Daley has 25 years of experience in the areas of Diversity, C-Suite and Executive Level Coaching and Organizational Development. Ms. Daley’s expertise is in designing and facilitating innovative solutions in the private sector with an emphasis on helping individuals and organizations navigate changing priorities, cultures and goals.

Prior to forming her own consulting practice, Daley and Associates, she managed the Organization Development &Internal Coaching practice at Citigroup’s Global and Corporate Investment Bank and Planned Parenthood Federation of America. At Columbia University she designed and led its leadership and service culture development initiatives. Her work with female professionals in the area of self-promotion and branding received national recognition in O Magazine. She is a highly regarded learning strategist, leadership development collaborator, executive coach, and content facilitator for an array of organizations including: Planned Parenthood Federation of America, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, DTCC, Chanel, Planned Parenthood Global , Reckitt Benckiser, Novartis, Macy’s, United Nations Development Program, Marsh, Ernst & Young, Ford Motor Company, The Financial Women’s Association, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, The National Association of Black MBA’s, Citigroup, Junior League and the YMCA of Harlem, New York. Ms. Daley is a member of the Duke University Corporate Education Global faculty.

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Ms. Daley is an alumna of Harvard University School of Law Program on Negotiation and has completed graduate work at Teachers College of Columbia University in Adult Learning. She holds a BA from the University of Washington, Seattle in Political Economics.

The Granderson Group is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.